The tombs of Osman and Orhan Gazi, located atop the old Bursa Citadel, serve as melancholy monuments to the Ottoman Empire’s founders. These mausoleums, nestled among the lush expanse of Tophane Park, are the final resting places of the dynasty’s founder and his son, the conqueror of Bursa. The ancient tombs were destroyed by the terrible earthquake of 1855, but their legacy was revived in 1863 by Sultan Abdulaziz, who rebuilt them in the magnificent Ottoman Baroque style. The tomb of Osman Gazi, befitting his status as the empire’s founder, is the more richly decorated of the two.

Tomb of Osman Gazi

Following the capture of Bursa in 1326, Osman Gazi (1258-1326), the Ottoman dynasty’s namesake, was laid to rest in accordance with his final wishes. His son, Orhan Gazi, interred him in a structure known as “Gümüşlü Kubbe,” or the “Silver Dome,” which was originally a Byzantine chapel. Following Bursa’s conquest, this chapel, which was previously part of the St. Elias Monastery and dates back to the 11th century, became a mausoleum. Its lead-plated dome, shining in the Anatolian sun, acted as a landmark throughout the city’s siege.

Sultan Abdulaziz rebuilt the mausoleum in 1863 after it was destroyed by fire in 1801 and an earthquake in 1855. The current construction has an octagonal shape, with the interior housing a central coffin beautifully inlaid with nacre marquetry on timber—an artistic monument to Osman Gazi.

The tomb has 17 sarcophagi with the bones of famous Ottoman people, including Alaaddin Bey, Osman Gazi’s son, Asporça Hatun, Orhan Gazi’s wife, and their son, İbrahim Bey. Murad I’s ill-fated son, Savcı Bey, is also interred here. The tomb has undergone multiple repairs, most recently in 2004 and 2009, to ensure that its splendor lasts through the generations.

Tomb of Orhan Gazi

Orhan Gazi (1281-1362), the visionary monarch who established Bursa as the Ottoman capital, is buried in a mausoleum built on the former location of the St. Elias Monastery’s Church. Fragments of Byzantine mosaics embedded in the flooring serve as reminders of the site’s past, providing insight into its pre-Ottoman history.

Orhan Gazi’s tomb, like his father’s, was destroyed in the 1855 earthquake and later rebuilt by Sultan Abdulaziz in 1863. The structure, which retains its original site, has a square plan that reflects the architectural sensibility of the time.

Within the tomb, 20 sarcophagi remain in solemn rest, the most conspicuous of which belongs to Orhan Gazi himself. His ultimate resting place is prominently located on a marble base and surrounded by an elaborate cast-brass lattice. The other interments include Nilufer Hatun, his wife; Shehzade Kasım, his son; and Fatma Sultan, daughter of Yıldırım Bayezid. The tomb also houses the remains of Abdullah, son of Cem Sultan, and Shehzade Korkut, son of Bayezid II, with the identities of several more individuals lost to history.